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Bristol hosts season of social justice events

An exhibition which will tell the little known stories of ordinary people involved in the US Civil Rights movement against racial discrimination in the 1960s is being staged in Bristol next month.

Supported by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), Journey to Justice is holding the travelling national exhibition at Bristol Cathedral from 3 October.

The exhibition will explore the events in the US during the movement and relate these to what was happening in the UK at the time. Alongside the multimedia exhibition will be specially commissioned displays featuring Bristol's own stories about those who strove against injustice over the past 300 years.

As well as the exhibition there will be a programme of 35 events held throughout October, including an interview at M Shed museum with England's first black High Sheriff and Britain's first black female Lord-Lieutenant, Peaches Golding, by Dr Madge Dresser, a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at UWE Bristol. Other events include walks, workshops, films, art installations, dance, poetry and storytelling throughout the city.

The aim is to bring people of all ages and backgrounds together to inspire and inform them about human rights campaigning past and present. Events at Millennium Square, Knowle West, Southmead, St Paul's, Fishponds, College Green and elsewhere will show how individuals and groups have worked and continue to work to fight for social justice.

The culminating event Hands Across the City on 29 October will be a solidarity walk celebrating diversity and social justice in Bristol. This will coincide with a march 300 miles away across the Tyne Bridge, which marks the anniversary of Martin Luther King's visit to Newcastle. In Bristol, the procession will stop briefly on Pero's Bridge where participants will be photographed holding hands and showing banners made especially for the event. All will then progress to City Hall where there will be stalls, performances, food and speakers.

Dr Dresser, Coordinator of Journey to Justice Bristol, said: “Our aim is to build on Bristol's creative energies by bringing together people from all walks of life to share new stories about their city's history, and to channel their skills and passions to make Bristol a fairer place.”